Robert garrard



(No Model.)

B. GARRARD.

. GATE,

No. 575,229. Patented Jan. 12, 1897.

Iiiil pmumi mm: awuv/wboz wwm 130]; art Garrard UNITED STATES ATENT Enron.

ROBERT GARRARD, OF BEDFORD, IOIVA.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 575,229, dated January 12, 1897.

Application filed y 12, 1896. Serial No. 591,242. (No model.)

To ctZZ whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT GARRARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bedford,in the county of Taylor and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of gates known as sliding, which are in common use, and which possess many advantages that are readily recognized over those that are adapted to swing for the purpose of opening and closing.

The objects of my invention are to produce a cheap and simple gate of the above class that may be readily operated to open and close, which is applicable to any ordinary rail fence, and certain features of which may be manufactured either in connection with the gate or independent thereof, and in the latter instance be adapted forapplication to any ordinary gate now in use, whereby the same is transformed into a sliding gate having the advantages hereinbefore enumerated.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a gate embodying my invention, the same being shown as partly open. Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof.

Like numerals indicate like parts in the figures of the drawings.

In connection with my improved gate I have illustrated so much of an ordinary rail fence as is necessary to cooperate therewith. This fence consists of the usual posts 1 and longitudinal rails 2, and at the end of a section of the fence is located a pair of gate-posts 3. Located a suitable distance from the gateposts 3 is the pair of latch-posts 4:,and between the gate-posts and the latch-posts occurs the gate-opening.

The gate-posts 3 preferably terminate at their upper ends below the upper edge of the fence, and near said upper ends are on their outer sides recessed, as at 5. Connecting the u er ends of the gate-post 3 is an inverted U shaped yoke-casting 6, the terminals of which rest in the recesses 5 and are bolted to position, as shown at 7.

Opposite stub-shafts 8 project inwardly from the vertical terminals ofthe yoke-casting 6, and arranged loosely on said stub-shafts is a pair of opposite rollers 9.

10 designates an ordinary sliding gate, the

same consisting of the usual vertical bars 11 and the longitudinal connecting-bars 12-, two of which are in the present instance extended backward in rear of the gate and beyond its vertical end bar 11, where they are connected by means of a vertically-disposed cast plate 13. (See dotted lines, Fig. 1.) From this plate there projects a horizontal stub-shaft 14:, and arranged to loosely revolve thereon is a flanged roller 15, the same being of a diameter agreeing with the space between the adjacent edges of the fence-rails 2, said edges serving as a track in which the flanged roller is designed to be moved. In constructing gates, of course this extension of the bars is provided for. When, however, my invention is to be applied to any of the ordinary gates now in use, new bars will be required.

Along the upper edge of the gate I secure a horizontal flat track-rail 16, the same being of such width as to adapt it to pass readily within the yoke 6, in which position it will rest upon and ride readily over the loose rollers 9 as the gate is opened and closed.

In order to take the strain off the rollers 9 when the gate is closed, I may employ a roller 17, the same being loosely journaled between and near the'lower ends of the posts 4, and upon which the front end of the gate may rest.

It will beperfectly obvious that my invention may be applied to the ordinary sliding gate, or that it maybe manufactured in connection with the gate, but however its presence may be secured the result is clearly the same, and a smooth, easy-running, durable gate of this class is provided.

Of course my invention is not limited to use in connection with a fence, as ordinary guides may be substituted for the fence-rails, such guides being supported by a convenient wall or other conveniently adjacent fixture.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination with the fence-posts and their rails, of the gate and latch posts, the inverted-U-shaped yoke having its ends let into recesses formed in the oppositesides of the posts, the opposite stub-shafts arranged in said yoke, the loose rollers thereon, the sliding gate having the overhanging trackrail at its upper edge resting on the rollers and having two of its longitudinal connectingbars extended beyond its rear posts alongside the fence-rails, the cast plate connecting said extended bars and having a stub-shaft extended laterally between the fence-rails and a loose roller flanged and mounted on the shaft and adapted to move in the track produced by the parallel adjacent edges of the fence-rails, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with the rail fence, of the gate and latch posts, loose rollers arranged at opposite sides of the former, a gate having a track-rail at its upper edge resting 011 the pulleys and having two of its longitudinal bars extended rearwardly beyond the gate by the side of the fence and a roller loosely mounted upon said bars and engaged between the rails of the fence, substantially as specified.

3. The combination With the opposite gateposts and the inverted-U-shaped yoke connecting the same, loose rollers at the upper end of the same, a gate having an oppositelyprojecting flange at its upper edge resting on the rollers, rails extending in rear of the gate and having a roller, and a track supported in rear of the gate and supporting said roller, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT GARRARD. Vitnesses:

Tnos. E. COBB, JOHN J. CLARK. 

